Thursday, September 25, 2008

This is my homework for my stop animation class: design a paper cut out character for a 30 second animation--mine is a rendition of Rapunzel. Each of the little joints is a separate piece of paper stuck together: or will be eventually. I drew all of the pieces to fit together on photoshop, and this is them all put together. The actual sheet just looks like a ton of random things on a page. And the page for the expressions is just full of faces with blinking eyes and moving eyes and such things. And I have another page just for the huge masses of hair she has.

The other character I have is a knight, but I haven't started on him yet---that'll probably be started tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My dog passed away today. I've missed her so much this last month--and haven't really felt homesick until now. She's been my best friend since I was 5, and I kind of don't know what it will be like going home without her bright blue eyes being there to welcome me.

She's been with me since kindergarten to 12th grade--and once I got a little bigger, she was always by my side, always there when I was upset, and even a couple of years ago when I had a really bad case of the stomach flu, she came and layed next to me in the bathroom floor. I'm glad I got to see her and really say goodbye before I left for college, but it doesn't make it hurt any less--it sucks being so far away.

Ugh it's not fair that the most loving and good things in the whole world never seem to live long enough, in comparison to a human life. I mean, turtles and birds--neat animals, don't get me wrong--can't even compare to a cat or dog--and yet they can live for 20-30 years, if not more. The animals that will let you put dumb things on their heads, pet them until you have more fur on your body than they do, snuggle up with whenever you would like, twirl around with, play tag with, tackle, play, and hug--not to mention the unending loyalty. And yet they're limited to such a short time on the earth. I'll never quite understand it, and the sadness seems almost not worth it once you lose them--but I know I will always own cats and dogs for as long as I possibly can.

Denali taught me so much, and I am so grateful for her. She was with me through the hardest times in my life, being the only one in my family who would always know if something was wrong. Having such a great animal in my life has left a huge empty hole--and I'll never forget her.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Quiz: How well do you know your husband boyfriend best male friend? Answer these questions about him and find out:

Elliot

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen?Scrubs, Heroes, occasionally the Office. But he is ALWAYS watching Scrubs. Always.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?I don't think he would ever order a salad. But I'm pretty sure he likes ranch? haha

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Tomatoes. and FRYSAUCE.

4. You go out to a bar. What does he order? ha.

5. Where did he go to high school? Highland High

6. What size shoe does he wear? 11

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He collects stickers to put on his guitar case, tickets of all kinds, coins (which are deposited into a large bottle and then taken to coinstar), guitars, various other things.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Heck if I know. I know he likes grilled cheese a lot, as well as cheeseburgers with bacon and barbecue sauce. He's really healthy, you see.

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could? I have no idea. I'll ask him. Technically this is cheating but screw you. But my guess is Bombay House. He's kind of obsessed with it. HA I was right.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Hm. He likes sugary ones since his parents never stock his pantry with them, I think.

11. What would he never wear? I don't know....I've seen him in just about everything. Including a shirt with himself on it. And fishnets.

12. What is his favorite sports team? I guess the Aggies?

13. Who will he vote for? Obama, I'm guessing?

14. Who is his best friend? Me, Tiffany, Tucker, other neat people.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? I have nooo idea. Probably be annoying. (:

16. How many states has he lived in? One

17.What is his heritage? Swedish. The Swede.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake? He wouldn't let me bake him a cake. His mom has to bake it. And it needs to be the one colorful kind--it's really specific--with lots of sprinkles.

19. Did he play sports in high school? Ran cross country and track, and of course ultimate frisbee.

20. What could he spend hours doing? Various things. Mostly goofing off, probably wishing he could be with his girlfriend, watching Scrubs, playing Wii, playing the guitar?

21. Does he belong to any men's organizations? Hmm I don't know about now at USU but he was in H.A.M. and various other club things at Highland.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The objective of these are pretty obvious, but in case you've missed it, the first one was to make a worm crawl across the screen, the second was to make a ball jump, and then the last was to turn a sphere into a cube.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

3. What is your most embarrassing moment in high school? I don't get embarrassed easily. I even fell over while in my chair in Doug Tate's class one time in the middle of one of his lectures--and besides having a gnarly bruise on my calf, I just laughed. I'm pretty sure Emily Anderson and Anna Tingey were PEEING their pants when it happened.

4. Were you a party animal? Not really! I mean, I went to my fair share, but I never did anything to warrant "party animal".

5. Were you considered a flirt? Yep.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?: Ha, I took art.

7. Were you a nerd? : Oh still am.

8. Were you on any varsity teams? : Lacrosse and golf. Though golf was a bit of a joke. LOVED it though.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? : nope

10. Can you still sing the fight song? : Pep Club ingrains every cheer, song, and whatever else into your brain permanently.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?: Never anywhere constant. I'd usually be out for lunch with Mary or whoever else, but when I was there, I'd migrate to and from each area, wherever my friends were. Met a lot of cool people that way.

13. School Mascot? Rams

14. Did you go to homecoming and with who?: Yep. Once with Elliot and once with Tucker.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I loved it, but I wouldn't.

16. What do you remember most about graduation?: haha since it was only back in June...But hmm. Probably how sad it made me to realize it might be the last time I would see many people until our 10 or 20 year reunion or whatever.

17. Where did you go senior skip day?: To the zoo with Danny, Barbra, Marshall, Cameron, and Emilio. Not even kidding. haha, I'm awesome.

20. Who was your prom date?: I've gone with a bunch of different people (I'm counting Morp and other things too), Ben, Peter, Pete, Danny, Chris, Tucker (again)--and I'm pretty sure stupid stuff came up for whatever other dances there were, like I was out of town.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?: of course, I want to see where everyone is in their life.

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?: I don't know. I didn't really screw anything up royally in my life or anything like that, like not making good friends or whatever else, and not getting good grades--but all I perhaps could've learned was how to dress myself well a LITTLE earlier than freshman year? Haha

Friday, September 12, 2008

I thought I'd put up a better picture of the people I've been hanging out with all this time I've been here--from left to right it's Claire; who is a fashion major, Chelsea; who is also a fashion major, me Carina; who is a motion picture technology major; and Jenni who is an illustration major. As you can see, we're pretty cute. Claire and Chelsea are the girls I met that one night at that crazy bonfire, and Carina is Chelsea's roommate while Jenni is Claire's.

Last night it was Carina's 19th birthday, so we all hopped onto the bus (muni is my new best friend--I need to get a pass with how much I use it) to Fisherman's Wharf and went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. It felt like I was 10 or so--I used to be OBSESSED with that restaurant. It was really fun, though we didn't get to look around the Wharf very much. I'll have to head down there sometime in the day when it's not so cold and look at the seals and eat some crab and whatnot. Of course I want to do all of these fun things but I'm poor and don't have a job yet (I want to kind of settle into my rutine a little bit more) so I'll wait for my family to come and visit me so I don't have to buy this all myself. Yes, family who is planning on visiting me, I am using you and your resources. (:

I'm kidding of course (kind of), and actually cannot WAIT to see all of my family. The semester is already started, and with only 15 weeks of class, it goes by really fast--it seems like I haven't been here long, when in fact I've been here for quite a bit of time. Since I'm not coming home for Thanksgiving, I won't get to see everyone until December (my last final should be on December 19th). However, Carina has already invited me to come spend Thanksgiving with her since she lives about 45 minutes away, so that should be really fun.

Alright, I love you all and I'll update soon--my internet is down at my dorm so I haven't been connected as much as I would like to be. Currently in order to get internet, I have to sit at the end of my hall outside of my room in order to be connected to a neighbor's wi-fi since the bandwidth for The Commodore is used up every day by people and their XBOX live. It's pretty obnoxious. So my butt is numb from sitting on the ground--but eh, whatever it takes.

I'd like to say congratulations to Eden and Robert Cowart on their little girl! I'm so excited for them.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Well, I've been here for a bit over a week--and I'm adjusting nicely. I've figured out the names of the streets, gotten to class on time, and have made my dorm my home. I've gotten used to riding Muni, the meal plan, and not having my mom right there to take care of everything for me. I've made some good friends, smelled more pot wafting from every open door way than I have ever smelled in my entire life (even more than at a Jack Johnson concert), gone to a new ward, and have walked more places in these last couple of days than I probably had all summer.

Since being here, I have learned kind of how ridiculous it is to drive everywhere back home, and to depend on everyone else to give me rides to whatever else. I think I've gotten the hang of public transportation, and walking a mile or so REALLY isn't going to kill me.

I asked my mom before I left if she was worried about me--she said, "Not so much right now--but the moment we drive off--that's when I'll be worried. You're not as ready as you think you are," which is absolutely true. I had no idea what to expect when I first came here. I didn't quite realize what living on your own was going to be like--but I was so excited. And of course, I still am excited about the coming months, but I'm really missing my family, more than anything. A kid I met in my Analysis of Form class happened to be a new convert to the LDS church, so we decided to go to church together, along with another girl who I had found on Facebook. He bore his testimony in sacrament meeting, and was invited later by one of the members of the bishopric to their house for dinner. I declined the invitation when Dylan said we could come too, since I knew I would be busy tomorrow and needed to pick up some job applications while it wasn't hectic down in Union Square. But I thought about how you don't really realize how much you miss your family when for so long you take for granted having such a massive family to always be with at almost any moment, especially something as simple as a Sunday dinner. Today is Allison's 22nd birthday, and two days ago it was Ashlie's 24th--so tonight everyone will be over at my mom's house to celebrate. Not that I feel left out or anything of that extent--but I miss that kind of unconditional love you can only get when you are with your family.

Again, I've met some really neat people who I really enjoy being with--but going to the meal plan cafe for Sunday dinner isn't QUITE the same for some reason. I'm going to go to dinner in a few with Claire, Chelsea, and Carina, so I'm off.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

So I've met some cool people, though some REALLY awkward people too--but hey. Some is better than none. But I went to a bonfire down at Ocean Beach on Saturday night and this is how it went:

So starting off, everyone in my dorm who was going walked down to a bus station in order to get down to Ocean Beach. I was trying to find my friend Lyndsey, but I couldn't (turns out she left her phone at her dorm), so I started talking to these two girls, Claire and Chelsea who both seemed really nice and were both fashion majors. So after waiting about 20 minutes at the bus stop, our RA's decided to take us to another bus stop, since it seemed that one wasn't coming. By that time, some of the guys that all three of us girls knew hopped in a cab and went to the beach, and we thought it was a good idea, so we split the fare and went to the beach to meet those guys.

Upon getting to the beach, we found the guys, however, obviously those who took the bus weren't going to be there for a while, so we wandered in and amongst the bonfires, until we came across this HUGE one with a bunch of drunk/high forty year olds dancing to techno music with glo sticks and LED lights and twirling fire and all sorts of things. So Chelsea, Claire, and I are all peeing our pants, and we spot this guy who looked like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite busting a move. And then right next to him there was a guy in a squirrel suit? By that time we figured that was all a little too sketchy for our liking(the picture of the fire was the only one I could get without being TOO much of a creeper), and we hurried out of there. By that time I had discovered that all the guys with us were nice and friendly, however, they all turned out to be major druggies--which I'm not quite into, you see. So we finally managed to find our big group, and it was just awkward. No one was talking to each other outside of their own little cliques which had already been made, and yeah, I don't know, it was super cold and windy and was pretty miserable. So Chelsea, Claire, and I hopped on a muni bus with some people and headed back to the dorms--which was an interesting ride as well since two girls were on it who were falling down drunk and just OBNOXIOUS to the point where I just wanted to punt them. When we got off the bus at our stop, one fell down, and then the other tripped over her. I just rolled my eyes and kept on walking.

So since then, I've been hanging out with Chelsea and Claire a lot, which is fun to have some actual friends here.

The last couple of days I've mostly just been wandering around, getting my bearings of the whole place (I think I have Union Square and Chinatown all worked out, since I live right there, I've been walking down for one thing or another each day), and getting used to trekking up and down all the hills to get to where I need to be. Orientation was today, and I met a guy and a girl both in the animation program, Elaine and Keith who were both super friendly, so I might see them around, though they both live in apartments that are far away, so we'll see. So after orientation I headed down to the Utrecht supply store to get my stuff for my foundations class, and I talked to a kid in the ridiculously long line, and of course when I get to the front of the line, the kit I was trying to buy was sold out. So I paid for it, now I just need to go pick it up. I might do that tomorrow, sometime. I guess tomorrow there's a big tour thing, so I think I'll go on that just so I know where the majority of my classes are being held, since I seriously have no idea where Townsend and Brennan streets are--besides knowing they're really far away and that a shuttle is necessary if I'm going to be there on time.

Ugh I am so excited for class. I'm nervous, but I really am learning all of this stuff from the best people in the industry. It can't get much better than this. It's going to be a TON of work, but I think I'm ready for it. I'm fully prepared to put my heart and soul into everything, because the field I am going into, while in high demand, is INCREDIBLY competitive--say for a job working at Pixar--which seems to be my and everyone else I have talked to's dream. So we'll see. If I don't end up there--so be it. There are countless companies I'd be thrilled to work for, but I have a goal, and it's actually in sight, a real possibility for my future. I'm incredibly lucky to have this opportunity, and I'm not going to let it go to waste. I'm not going to go in expecting to be some hotshot who is better than everyone else--there's no way. Sure, I was one of the best at my high school, but it's going to be a completely different sort of deal here. I'm sure half of the class has never picked up a pencil, and I'm sure the other half will blow me out of the water. I don't quite know where I stand in terms of that--and I don't care. I'm just going to go in there to my first class on Friday and be prepared to do the best that I possibly can, always knowing that I can be better, and that if I really work at it, I will get better.